Evidence Aid bulletin: 23 January 2023

We are pleased to send you Evidence Aid’s January 2023 bulletin, containing shortened versions of three of our recent summaries. Please forward this to others who might be interested. Anyone who would like to receive these monthly bulletins directly or has questions about our work should contact Jane Copsey (info@evidenceaid.org). If you like our work and think it is important that we continue through 2023, please consider making a donation here.

Accuracy of prehospital triage systems for mass casualty incidents in trauma register studies. Citation: Marcussen CE, et al. Accuracy of prehospital triage systems for mass casualty incidents in trauma register studies – A systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies. Injury. 2022;53(8):2725-33.

Accurate triage systems are important for prioritising the care of patients during mass casualty incidents and, in this systematic review, the authors searched for studies of the diagnostic accuracy of these triage systems. Their March 2022 search identified 12 studies, which had analysed the accuracy of 15 systems. This evidence did not clearly show that any one of these had higher overall accuracy compared to any other. However, Triage Sieve had lower sensitivity but higher specificity compared to START and CareFlight, and CareFlight had higher specificity than Military Sieve and START. The authors of the review concluded that, considering the highly uncertain evidence available, emergency medical services should consider the use of Triage Sieve as the standard prehospital triage system. (Full summary available in our Resilient Health Systems and Managing Physical Injuries collections.)

Food security interventions for refugees. Citation: Nisbet C et al. Food Security Interventions among Refugees around the Globe: A Scoping Review. Nutrients. 2022;14(3):522.

Many refugees face food insecurity and evidence on ways to help ease this might help policy makers and practitioners. This scoping review of 57 articles looks at the availability of that evidence on interventions to reduce food insecurity among refugees. It found that most interventions in this literature related to cash, vouchers or food transfers; urban agriculture, gardening, animal husbandry or foraging; nutrition education; and infant and young child feeding. The authors conclude that cash transfers are probably most suitable when markets are stable and that promoting self-sufficiency among refugees is a clear outcome of strategies that aim to incorporate livelihood strategies. They call for more collaboration among international organizations and humanitarian agencies in tackling food insecurity among refugees and further efforts to incorporate marginalized populations in food security programs. (Full summary available in our Health of Refugees and Asylum Seekers and Resilient Health Systems collections.)

Non-communicable disease interventions for women and children in conflict settings. Citation: Shah S, et al. Delivering non-communicable disease interventions to women and children in conflict settings: a systematic review. BMJ Global Health. 2020;5:e002047.

Armed conflict and other humanitarian emergencies disrupt and delay treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), leading to poorer outcomes for patients and increased costs. This systematic review examines research into the delivery of NCD interventions to conflict-affected children, adolescents and women aged 15 to 49 years in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs). The information from the 27 included studies shows that screening and medication for cardiovascular disease and diabetes are the most commonly studied NCD interventions in this context and that doctors were the most frequently reported type of healthcare worker for delivering the interventions. Key facilitators for the successful delivery of the interventions were innovative technology, workforce training and multidisciplinary care. In their conclusions, the authors write that more focus is needed on strengthening cohort monitoring systems to enhance regular access to patients and promote sustainable care. (Full summary available in our Health of Refugees and Asylum Seekers, Managing Physical Injuries and Resilient Health Systems collections.)

We hope that this bulletin, the collections we link to in the above, and all our resources (EvidenceAid.org) are helpful. We would be pleased to hear from you with suggestions for how we can improve what we do